


Let me ease your pain away

by Teetaloo



Category: La Reina del Sur (TV), Queen of the South (TV)
Genre: 3x07, Canon Divergence, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Lowkey food porn, Touching
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-02
Updated: 2018-08-02
Packaged: 2019-06-20 21:59:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15543042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Teetaloo/pseuds/Teetaloo
Summary: Pote locks Teresa up alone for her safety and she has a nightmare. Luckily, James comes to give her some company (and some food).





	Let me ease your pain away

**Author's Note:**

> Set 3x07, based off of the clips of Teresa locked in that room. I just need some James/Teresa comfort and I feel like we won't get any for a while so this is how I'm coping with that lol.

_Teresa looks up from where she sits against the wall, hugging her knees to her chest. Güero hovers above her, alive and well dressed, looking years younger than when she’d seen him last. She can’t believe her eyes._

 

_“Güero?”_

 

_He smiles down at her, offering his hand. “C’mere. Dance with me”_

 

_She smiles despite her tears, reaching up to take his hand and falling into his arms. She leans her head against his chest, swaying gently to the music coming from the radio in the corner. She can feel his warm body against hers, and she begins to cry again from relief. He’s alive, and he’s here with her. She can’t quite remember what happened to make this such a revelation, all she knows is she can feel her guilt and sadness melting away at his touch. She pulls back to look at him._

 

_But where moments before he’d been clean and alive, he now appears monstrous, his skin peeling and bloody, eyes dead as he continues to hold her against him. She reels back, horrified. “Güero? Güero, no!” As she lets go of him, he falls to the floor, crumpling with his face pressed to the ground._

 

_She stands in shock for a moment before falling to her knees next to him, reaching out to lift his face off the dirty floor. To her horror, Güero is gone, and it’s James who she holds in her arms, James whose body is bleeding and broken at her feet. She cradles his head against her chest as her breathing becomes more and more strained from the sobs wracking her body. “James….no, no not you too, I can’t…”_

 

Teresa wakes with a start, her body still curled up against the wall, muscles aching from holding herself so tightly. Her eyes take a second to adjust to the dimly lit room, and she struggles to remember where she is. Suddenly, it all comes rushing back. Güero dying, the attack on her business, Pote locking her in this damn room. She feels a hot tear running down her face and she lifts a hand to wipe it away angrily. Pote wanted her to rest, well, look how that turned out. Her nightmare is fresh in her mind, and all sleeping seemed to accomplish was making her feel worse about Güero and now, worried about James too.

 

She takes a deep breath and stretches her legs out in front of her, trying to regain some feeling in her limbs. She wonders where Pote has gone, and how long he intends to leave her locked up in this hovel. She knows he’s only doing it in the interest of protecting her, but he should know by now that leaving someone alone in their grief sometimes only makes it worse. Besides that, she wants to be there with him and James, to make sure they don’t die too. She couldn’t stand losing any more loved ones, especially while she was asleep. Losing Güero that way had been excruciating, and it only added to the guilt she felt surrounding his death. First abandoning him to be tortured for 8 months, then not even being able to stay awake long enough to notice him die in her arms. As she dwells again on these facts, her body collapses farther in on itself. She’s tried to be strong the past few weeks since his death, turning grief into ruthless action. But now, left on her own to be with her thoughts, she can only feel herself getting weaker.

 

Part of her recognizes that she needs sleep and food and time to feel more like herself, but most of her is too overwhelmed with guilt to care. Even though there had been a growing distance between herself and Güero leading up to her escape to Malta, he was still her first love, and he meant a lot to her. How could she take care of herself knowing that she couldn’t protect those she cared about the most? Who would be the next person she would be unable to save? The thought of anyone else dying is unbearable.

 

Teresa startles from her spiraling thoughts as she hears a thud from outside. A car door maybe? Perhaps it’s Pote, coming back to finally let her out of this prison. She hears footsteps coming closer and struggles to stand, her legs wobbling from fatigue. She instinctively scans the room for possible weapons, in case the footsteps belong to an enemy rather than a friend. Although she’s pissed at her friends right now, she’d rather it’d be one of them than one of Camila’s men.

 

A quiet knock eases her worry, her enemies would never bother to knock before barging in. Before she has a chance to respond, she hears James’ soft voice. “Teresa? It’s me.”

 

Teresa lets out a breath she didn’t know she was holding, her mind forcing her to relive her vision of him dying on the floor. She allows herself a moment of relief that he’s alive before returning to her anger. After all, he didn’t stop Pote from locking her up in here.

 

She makes her way to the door. “James? Let me out of here.”

 

She can feel his hesitation through the door, and he answers slowly and carefully. “You know I would, but Pote will kill me if I let you out and you go get into trouble. And he’s right, you need to rest.”

 

She huffs, annoyed at everyone for trying to control her, even if their intentions are good. Her eyes roll to stare at the ceiling. “I won’t let him kill you. I just can’t sit in here alone anymore, it’s driving me crazy.”

 

“I know, that’s why I’m here. I brought you something to eat, can I come in?”

 

She pauses; despite all the times he’s saved her life and been there to comfort her, she’s still taken back by his kind gestures. And with everything that’s happened between them lately, working together, living together, sleeping together, then weeks of uncertainty on both their parts following Güero’s death, she wasn’t sure where they stood. Besides, it was kind of a ridiculous question. The door locked from the outside, so it’s not like she has much of a choice. Still, she appreciates that he’s giving her one.

 

She sighs, running a hand through her hair as she stands back a few feet from the door. “Okay.”

 

“Will you promise not to attack me and make your escape?” he asks, a hint of amusement in his tone. She smiles slightly in spite of herself. “No promises.”

 

She hears him let out a soft breath of laughter before the handle clicks and turns. As the door slowly cracks open, she can see him cautiously peering into the room, relief obvious on his face as he finds her in one piece. Once again she feels her own relief at his safety despite her determination to be annoyed at him. He enters the room and shuts the door, leaning against it for a beat as he takes in her appearance.

 

Her hair is tangled where she’s run her hands anxiously through it, and her face is stained with tears and dirt. She’s holding herself stiffly, as if her back and her neck are stuck in their current positions. He can see a spot in the corner against the wall where the dirt is disturbed, that must have been where she was “resting.” His heart hurts to look at her in such a broken down state, although he’s seen her in much worse conditions.

 

James slowly moves from the door closer to where she stands. They both know that the door is now unlocked, and if she really wanted to, she could make him let her leave. But she stands still, only looking at him, looking at her. They stare at each other for another beat, before Teresa’s gaze drops to the plastic bag James holds in his left hand. He follows her gaze, lifting up the bag and starting towards the table in the middle of the room. “I know you don’t have much of an appetite, but you need to eat. It’s just some beans and rice, something simple and easy to get down. There should be tortillas in there, too.” He sets the bag down on the small table, and when she makes no move to open it, he opens it himself and starts to make her a plate. He grabs the small paper plate and plastic fork which he asked the restaurant to include and opens the takeout containers, arranging rice and beans and a few grilled vegetables in portions small enough not to overwhelm her. He finishes by folding a couple tortillas and placing them on the corner of the plate. As she watches him gently fixing her food, she feels her anger and annoyance melt away. He’s only trying to help her, and she’s been making that very difficult lately. Yet despite her stubbornness, he’s still here, never giving up on her.

 

He straightens up from where he was bent over the table, meeting her eyes and holding the plate out silently, his eyes pleading. He doesn’t want to pressure her, but he knows how long it’s been since she’s eaten anything, and it’s killing him to watch her punishing herself. To his relief, he sees her eyes soften as she lets out a deep breath and reaches to take the plate.

 

“Thank you,” she tells him, meeting his eyes as she moves to sit at the table. He follows her, his hand gently brushing her shoulder as he walks around to sit across from her.

 

She takes a moment to stare at the plate, allowing the smell of the food to wake up her stomach, trying to focus on James and his kindness rather than the guilt which still gnaws at the back of her brain. She shovels some of the rice onto her fork, hesitating only slightly before bringing it to her mouth. As she takes a bite, she feels her stomach growl as it remembers how much she loves fried rice. Before she knows it, she’s going back for more, piling beans and rice together with the vegetables and tearing off pieces of tortilla. She can’t even be bothered to feel self conscious at stuffing her face in front of James, especially since he looks so happy at the sight of her eating. He’s careful not to stare, but Teresa can see his eyes flicking to her every few seconds and the gentle smile gracing his face.

 

After a few minutes, she finishes everything on her plate and reaches for seconds. As she begins to scoop the last of the beans out onto her plate she looks over at James, realizing that he hasn’t eaten anything. “Do you want some? You must be hungry..”

 

He only shakes his head, smiling a little as he meets her eyes. “Nah. If there’s something you can’t finish I’ll take it, but this is for you. I’m fine, I promise.” Although it had been hard for him to eat lately, knowing how little she was taking care of herself, he had made sure to keep his strength up, needing to be strong enough for the both of them.

 

Even though her instinct is to argue, Teresa nods, recognizing that they’ll both feel better if she eats as much as she can. She continues to eat in silence for a few more minutes, only stopping when she feels herself getting full. She licks her fork clean before setting it on the plate and pushing the whole thing towards James. There’s a few bites of rice and beans left, and almost a whole tortilla, but she doesn’t think she can eat any more without upsetting her stomach.

 

He tilts his head questioningly, searching her eyes. “Are you sure you can’t finish it?” he asks, making sure she’s not just being polite. She nods, meeting his eyes with an honest expression. “Please eat the rest, I’m really full.”

 

He gives in, picking up her fork and piling up the rest of the food onto the remaining tortilla. Teresa watches as he, in turn, licks the fork clean almost absentmindedly before putting it down to bring the tortilla to his mouth. She’s surprised by the feeling that erupts in her abdomen as she watches him do so. They’ve lived together for months, and they’ve had sex for heaven’s sake, but somehow sharing a fork feels more intimate than anything else they’ve shared. Teresa shakes her head slightly; she really needs to get a grip. At least she can feel her senses growing stronger as the nutrients from the food slowly enter her system.

 

James sends her yet another questioning glance as he notices the odd expression on her face, but she just shakes her head at him and looks around the room. “What now?” she asks, wondering if he’s going to leave her locked up in here alone once more. If she really wants to get out of here, she should be making a break for the door while he’s still sitting there eating. Maybe it’s just the fullness of her stomach lulling her into relaxation, but she can’t bring herself to move. He shrugs, finishing off the last of the food and wiping his mouth with a paper napkin.

 

“If you really want to go, we can leave. But I know we’d all feel better if you got some sleep, including you,” James replies.

 

Teresa glances at the couch in the corner of the room. She’d avoided it until now, choosing to curl on the floor and allow her guilt to consume her. But she can feel herself getting sleepy from all the food, and with James here she’s beginning to relax into herself again. Still, she hasn’t been able to shut her eyes without seeing everyone she loves dying at her feet.

 

“I want to sleep, really I do, but I can’t…. Nightmares,” she finally admits, feeling a sudden urge to be honest with him.

 

His eyes soften in understanding, he’s had his fair share of those over the years, especially after the incident with Susie. “Güero?” he guesses, wanting to give her space to talk about it if she wants to.

 

She nods, hesitating before admitting the rest. “And you. Pote too, and Tony. Everyone I love, dead. I’m always left behind, and it’s always my fault.” Her eyes start to water again, and she looks down at her lap, unable to look at James as she once again remembers her latest dream.

 

James’ eyes widen ever so slightly at her inclusion of him in the list of people she loves, but this is not about him. Love means something different to everyone, and although he’s recognized his love for her for what it is by now, he can’t assume she feels the same. All he knows for sure is that he can’t stand seeing her in this kind of pain, and he can’t bear the thought of her blaming herself for his death, especially when he’s still very much alive. His gaze drops to where her hands are shredding a napkin on the table in front of her. He reaches out to cover her hands with one of his, stilling her anxious movements and rubbing a thumb across her knuckles.

 

“Hey,” he says, waiting for her to look at him before continuing, “I’m still here, and so is Pote. We’re not going anywhere. Tony’s safe, and none of our enemies even know he exists. And if anyone ever found out, I would do everything in my power to keep him safe.” Teresa should be shocked at his fierce protectiveness of Tony, considering he’s never even met the kid, but she’s not. His experience losing Susie demonstrated how much he cares for children, and his care for her obviously extends to those she cares about. It makes perfect sense, and yet it shakes her to her core to realize how far his concern for her goes. She releases the napkin to squeeze his hand.

 

“I know. But I can’t help but worry about it. It feels like I’m putting everyone I care about in danger.”

 

James shakes his head. “Pote and I chose this life, and we chose to follow you. To be with you. There is nowhere I’d rather be and no one I’d rather be in danger for than you. And I know he feels the same. You can’t control everything, and neither can we, but we’re all stronger together. We all have a better chance at surviving this life if we stay and fight together. Think of everything we’ve gone through. Ever since you came to Dallas, our lives have been chaos. But we survived it all and we will survive this, I promise. You will be okay. We’re in this together, remember?”

 

He’s worried he went too far when she doesn’t respond right away, but he can see the raw emotion on her face as tears well in her eyes. She sighs deeply before looking up to meet his eyes with a watery gaze, smiling ever so slightly as she allows his words to sink in. He hasn’t said anything she didn’t already know, deep down, but the last few weeks have buried some of that knowledge pretty damn deep. She takes a shaky breath and brings his hand to her mouth, kissing it softly. “Yeah, I know. Thank you.”

 

HIs eyes are warm as he stands, never letting go of her hands as he walks around to her side of the table. He brings his other hand to hers to help her stand, and guides her towards the couch. “Come on, if you can’t sleep, at least sit and be comfortable for a while.”

 

He releases her hands as she settles into the cushions, and he joins her a few feet away, wanting to give her some space.

 

Teresa looks at him for a few moments, taking the time to really study his expression. Whatever she finds there, it’s enough to let her final defenses come down. She toes off her boots and brings her legs up under her, her knees pointing towards him where he sits to her right. He watches her, unmoving, as she scoots closer to him, her knees coming to rest on his thigh. She searches his face for any signs of resisting, and finding none, she presses closer to him and rests her head on his chest, right below his left shoulder. She can feel tension melting away in both of their bodies as they connect, and his chest expands under her as he takes a deep breath. His left arm curls around her waist, drawing her closer, before moving to her upper back to allow his hand to brush lightly through her hair.

 

She lets out a very quiet “mmm” as he continues his soothing motions, working gently through the tangles in her hair. After a few minutes, she feels his hand brush against her neck and pause at the obvious knots he can feel under her skin. He gasps slightly in spite of himself, feeling how tightly wound her neck is. No matter how much she’s been through in her life, that can’t be comfortable.

 

He presses his thumb into the knot at the side of her neck, testing to see how bad it is. “Teresa,” he whispers, not wanting to ruin the comfortable silence, “You have some pretty bad knots in your neck. Can I…” he trails off, unsure of where their boundaries lie. But she just presses her face further into his chest and he can feel her nod, so he takes that as a sign to keep going. She’ll tell him if she wants him to stop touching her.

 

He shifts slightly to allow his hand maximum movement, before gently beginning to massage her neck. His thumb presses gently but firmly into the biggest knot, rubbing in slow, soothing circles while his fingers wrap around the base of her neck, holding her head steady. It’s not the best position for a massage, but it gets the job done, and besides he wouldn’t willingly move her off of him for anything in the world.

 

He hears her small moans as he continues to work the tension out of her aching muscles, and before he knows it her breathing is becoming deep and even. As she begins to fall into a peaceful sleep, her arm moves from where it was bent against his chest to circle his torso, bringing them even closer. He smiles and brings his lips to place a soft kiss on top of her head, moving his arm back down to her waist and hugging her to him. She knows that James will keep watch while she rests, and for the first time in a long time, Teresa drifts off to sleep with no fear in her mind.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! As always, I'm a ho for comments & you're welcome to come yell about QOTS with me on tumblr!! 
> 
> teresa-moyocoyotzin.tumblr.com
> 
> teetaloo.tumblr.com


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